Superstitions are taught to us by others. We pick them up from family, people we know, or those we encounter.
I would never think of myself as a superstitious person, but there are certain things I have to adhere to. My mother was responsible for two of them.
I was attempting to tidy-up my desk recently (don't laugh) when I spotted the above... crossed knives. This was one of my mother's horrors. The lower knife always had to be removed first, otherwise the most dreadful things could happen. I'm sad to say that the tradition continues, and crossed knives, chez Cro, are verboten.
Another of my mother's favourites concerns the 1st of each month. Every 1st, the very first words spoken before getting up in the morning, must be 'white rabbit, white rabbit'. This ensures a happy, productive, and safe, month. It's worked so far!
Otherwise I would never walk under a ladder; but I think of that as common sense, rather than superstition. I would never open an umbrella indoors, and I would also hate to break a mirror.
Do you have any unusual superstitions?
I have to admit that I believe in omens. If my day does not start out OK, I feel the rest of the day will follow suit. It is, though, a self- fulfilling prophecy. How silly it all is, but many of us do fall prey to the superstitions that have been passed down to us.
ReplyDeleteLightening was always a problem - don't know if that is a superstition but I always think of her dropping all cutlery in case of a lightening strike and driving the car was out as well for the same reason.
ReplyDeleteI still follow the three you mention above.
My Dad always used to say white rabbits on the first of the month - he also used to carry a rabbits paw for good luck. The only one you haaven't mentioned was putting shoes on the table - don't know why that would bring bad luck - but then it is all a load of old tosh.
ReplyDeleteNever heard about shoes on the table.
DeleteMy mother was very superstitious. I made a big effort to forget them...although I do still find myself throwing a pinch of any spilt salt over my shoulder, into the devil's eyes.
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard of the crossed knives or the white rabbit. I don't THINK I have any superstitions but now that you've mentioned them I'll probably find a few.
ReplyDeleteYes, the same as yours, Cro, also inherited from my mother. However, I didn't know that the lower of two crossed knives should be removed first. I shall now have to incorporate that into the process. ;)
ReplyDeleteDon't. It becomes obsessive.
DeleteI am the same as Jennyta........with a heap of others on top, and although I know it is silly, that doesn't stop me.....
ReplyDeleteI don't mind crossed knives aside from them looking untidy, but I hate putting a knife on the table which ends up pointing at H.I. Stuff comes out of the end of pointed objects (electricity and intentions), and it's not usually good stuff. Aside from that, I have managed to eradicate most of my inherited superstitions - touch wood.
ReplyDeleteSo, a crossed knife with crosses on it! on a table. Don’t you think that’s tempting fate a little too much ?
ReplyDeleteIt’s magpies with me, one for sorrow and all that.
Magpies, white rabbits and don't cross on the stairs are the ones I keep. During a storm my grandfather would hide all sharp objects such as knives and sissors, cover mirrors and close curtains.
ReplyDeleteI'd forgotten about crossing on the stairs. Our stairs are quite narrow at the moment, so it's been put aside.
DeleteMy Gram always said, "Never get up and leave a rocking chair 'rocking' or a ghost will come and sit in it" Thanks Gram...I've been carrying that superstition around for fifty odd years.
ReplyDeleteNot heard that one, but I like the sound of it.
DeleteI have loads of supersitions! (although I can't actually work out whether some of them may be OCD rather than superstition!). Saluting magpies or wishing them good morning, not crossing on the stairs (although work stairs are fine, domestic ones are not). I can't stand crossed cutlery left on a plate. I can't walk across three in a row drain covers. I have to hold my collar when I hear an ambulance siren. I'll shut up now!! :)
ReplyDeleteI too always salute single Magpies, and say good morning. But, why would you hold your collar when you hear an ambulance? I'm baffled.
DeleteI'm too absent minded to be superstitious (can never remember if something is lucky or unlucky). But my mother-in-law always used to warn me never to look at a full moon through glass. Difficult not to really.
ReplyDeleteEspecially if you wear glasses.
DeleteI will never flip a calendar ahead of time. Don't ask me where that came from, probably my silly head.
ReplyDeleteI never heard of the crossed knives, or the white rabbit ones. And please explain to me about crossing on the stairs.
DeleteI don't know where it comes from, but I always wait at either top or bottom if someone else is using the stairs. Probably just common sense, or etiquette.
DeleteThanks. I had no idea what that meant.
DeleteThis might be an Italian thing but my ex-mother-in-law told me you should never give a knife to anyone. Always insist that the recipient pay you even if just a penny.
ReplyDeleteYup; I do that too. And if you give someone a purse/wallet is should also have a few coins in it.
DeleteAs a kid, i avoided walking on the cracks in a sidewalk (pavement). Always picked up pennies, "See a penny, pick it up, all day long, you have good luck." Later on, i heard only heads-up pennies are lucky ones, but i stick to the earlier one.
ReplyDeleteI tend to think that the first song I hear in the day is a predictor of how that day will go....
ReplyDeleteYou are preaching to the choir here. My wife is one of the most superstitious people on the face of the planet. Perhaps you read my post called "Yes Dear" back on October 6th 2010. The women drives me crazy with it all sometimes, good thing I love her so.
ReplyDeleteThere is talk of making our vehicle WOF an annual event.
ReplyDeleteI try not to believe in bad luck, but I like finding out about new good luck practices so I must believe in the bad ones after all.
ReplyDeleteThis all sounds like a lot of work and mental anguish! :)
ReplyDeleteI've not hears of the crossed knives or "white rabbit" before. I'm not superstitious, I don't think, but my grandmother used to have a hissy fit if anyone rocked an empty rocking chair. She never said why, but it was something I knew not to do around her.
ReplyDeleteMy mother was very superstitious and it annoyed me so much, I swore I'd never be that way! :) She told me it was bad luck to write in red ink (never write a letter in red!) DOn't walk under ladders, broken mirrors = seven years bad luck (sounds like an awful punishment for breaking a stupid mirror!), shoes on the table are bad luck (I should think so!) and on and on...
ReplyDeleteOh, and my mother taught me that "white rabbit" thing too!! :)
ReplyDelete